I wanted to speak to my president face
to face one day and tell him, I am here. I wanted to say to him: I
am not a word, I am not those things you call me. I wanted to say
to him: I am more than a name.

This report was written by Scott Long, consultant
to Human Rights Watch and former program director of the International
Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. A. Widney Brown, deputy program
director of Human Rights Watch, and Gail Cooper, consultant to Human Rights
Watch, contributed substantial portions to the text. For Human Rights
Watch, the report was edited by Ian Gorvin, program consultant; Bronwen
Manby, deputy director of the Africa Division; and Dinah PoKempner, general
counsel. For IGLHRC, it was reviewed by Sydney Levy, former director of
communications.

The report is based on research conducted
between 1998 and 2002. Scott Long carried out a mission to Botswana, Namibia,
South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe for five weeks in November-December,
1998 and conducted thirty-one interviews which laid the groundwork for
future documentation. Scott Long and Widney Brown returned to South Africa
in October-November 1999 for two weeks, for a regional workshop for LGBT
activists, during which they helped formulate the conceptual outlines
of this report in cooperation with activists. Scott Long returned to Zambia
and Zimbabwe for five weeks in July-August 2000, and conducted nineteen
interviews in Zambia and thirty-nine interviews in Zimbabwe, as well as
an additional five interviews in South Africa. Scott Long returned to
South Africa for two weeks in November 2001 and conducted nineteen interviews
in Johannesburg and Soweto. Kagendo, Africa/Southwest Asia program officer
for IGLHRC, visited Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa in November-December
2001, and in five weeks conducted eight interviews.

For Human Rights Watch, Widney Brown and
Gail Cooper conducted a mission to South Africa and Namibia in July-August
2001. In South Africa, Widney Brown interviewed thirty-one people, mostly
in Gauteng and Eastern Cape provinces. Gail Cooper interviewed an additional
forty people in South Africa, mostly in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western
Cape provinces. Widney Brown continued to Namibia, and conducted thirteen
interviews in Windhoek and surrounding townships.Human Rights Watch wishes to thank many persons
and institutions who assisted this research during four years of work
on the project. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation provided
generous funding to support this project from its inception. Human Rights
Watch also expresses its gratitude to the David Geffen Foundation; the
Gill Foundation; James C. Hormel and Timothy C. Wu; Keith Recker; and
the Snowdon Foundation, for their ongoing support of its work on lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender people's rights.

Julie Dorf, former executive director of
IGLHRC, helped conceive and shape this project from the beginning. Rona
Peligal of Human Rights Watch, and Leslie Minot, Octavia Morgan, and Meredith
Wood of IGLHRC, all played important roles in articulating the importance
of the project and obtaining the support of funders.

Matthew V. Jones, intern at Human Rights
Watch, provided important research assistance for this report. Ali Arain,
program associate at IGLHRC, transcribed numerous interviews. Jonathan
Horowitz and Patrick Minges oversaw production and publication.

In Botswana, Rodgers Bande of LEGABIBO provided
invaluable help in our research; so did Joe and Mike of the same organization,
as well as the staff of Ditshwanelo, including Alice Mogwe, and Father
Richard Chance of the Anglican Church.

In Namibia, we received steady help and
guidance from The Rainbow Project and Ian Swartz; Sister Namibia, particularly
Elizabeth Khaxas and Liz Frank; Clement Daniels and Norman Tjombe of the
Legal Action Center; and the National Society for Human Rights and Phil
ya Nangoloh. Gwen Lister and other staff of the Namibian also provided
generous assistance over time.

In South Africa, we wish to acknowledge
with particular gratitude the support and assistance of Midi Achmat and
Zackie Achmat; Jonathan Berger; Justice Edwin Cameron; Beverly Ditsie;
Mazibuko Jara; Jonathan Klaaren; Douglas Torr; the Durban Gay and Lesbian
Community Health Centre, especially Nonhlahla Mkhize and Vasu Reddy; the
Gay and Lesbian Equality Project in Johannesburg, particularly Wendy Isaack,
Evert Knoesen, and Carrie Shelver; the Masimanyane Women's Center, East
London, and Lesley Ann Foster; the National Association of People With
AIDS in Germistown, especially Thanduxulo Doro; OUT Pretoria and Dawie
Nel; OUT Mamelodi; and the Township AIDS Project in Soweto, and in particular
Thulani Mhologo.

Our work in Zimbabwe would have been impossible
without the extraordinary openness and generosity of the staff and volunteers
at Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), who allowed Scott Long to work
from their offices for several weeks and shared extensive time and crucial
information. Keith Goddard, Peter Joaneti, Chesterfield Samba, and Romeo
Tshuma were particularly helpful in making available their expertise and
effort. Derek Matyszak of the University of Zimbabwe also offered important
assistance, as did Dominic S., and Chipo "Tina" Machida. Oliver
Phillips provided support, context, and contacts.

Others who assisted with this project cannot
be named, for reasons of safety. Still others have not survived to see
it achieve fruition. Two people whose work inspired many in Zimbabwe,
Poliyana Mangwiro and Carlos Mpofu, died before this report was completed.
Poliyana, who died in 2001, was a firm support to lesbians and people
living with HIV in her country, and a powerful advocate on their behalf;
her voice, with a calm confidence which confuted others' anger, had carried
the urgency of their needs to an international audience. Carlos, who died
in 2002, lived the disappointment, the hope, and the loneliness of youth
with rapid intensity; his death did not extinguish his will to accomplish
change, but seemed to seal and preserve it, an inheritance for others.
We dedicate this report to them: and to those who will inherit.